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Preparing Reports

Preparing Reports. CoB Center for Professional Communication. Preparing Reports. Analyze the report problem and purpose.

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Preparing Reports

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  1. Preparing Reports CoB Center for Professional Communication

  2. Preparing Reports • Analyze the report problem and purpose. • Develop a problem question (Are customers satisfied with our service?) and a purpose statement. (The purpose of this report is to investigate customer satisfaction and to recommend areas for improvement.) 1

  3. Preparing Reports • Anticipate the audience and issues. • Consider primary and secondary audiences. What do they already know? What do they need to know? • Divide the major problem into subproblems for investigation. 2

  4. Preparing Reports • Prepare a work plan. • Include problem and purpose statements. • Describe sources and methods of data collection. • Prepare a project outline and work schedule. 3

  5. Preparing Reports • Collect data. • Search secondary sources. • Gather primary data. 4

  6. Preparing Reports • Document data sources. • Prepare note cards or printouts citing all references (author, date, source, page, and quotation). Use APA format. 5

  7. Preparing Reports • Interpret and organize the data. • Arrange the collected data in tables, grids, or outlines to help you visualize relationships and interpret meanings. • Organize the data into an outline. 6

  8. Preparing Reports • Prepare graphics. • Make tables, charts, and illustrations – but only if they serve a function. Use graphics to clarify, condense, simplify, or emphasize your data. 7

  9. Preparing Reports • Compose the first draft. • Write the first draft knowing that you will revise it later. • Use appropriate headings and transitional expressions to guide the reader. 8

  10. Preparing Reports • Revise and proofread. • Revise to eliminate wordiness, ambiguity, and redundancy. Look for ways to improve readability, such as bulleted or numbered lists. Proofread three times for (1) word and content meaning, (2) grammar and mechanics, and (3) formatting. 9

  11. Preparing Reports • Evaluate the product. • Decide whether the report will achieve its purpose. Encourage feedback so that you can improve future reports. 10

  12. Transmittal document Formal & Informal Report Components References Appendix(es) Conclusions Body Introduction Table of contents Executive Summary Title Page Cover Optional in informal reports Generally appear in both formal and informal reports

  13. Project 1 Report Components References Appendix(es) Conclusions Body Introduction Table of Contents Executive Summary Title Page

  14. Report Components: Front Matter • Transmittal document • Announce the topic and explain who authorized it. • Briefly describe the project and preview the conclusions – if the reader is supportive.

  15. Report Components: Front Matter • Transmittal document • Close by expressing appreciation for the assignment, suggesting follow-up actions, acknowledging the help of others, and offering to answer questions.

  16. Report Components: Front Matter • Cover page • Choose a professional binder or cover. • Title page • Balance the following parts on the title page: • Report title in all caps • Receivers’ names • Authors’ team number and names • Date submitted

  17. Student Student Student Student Student

  18. Report Components: Front Matter • Executive summary • Summarize the report purpose, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. • Include strategic words and sentences. • Prepare an outline with headings. • Fill in your outline.

  19. Report Components: Front Matter • Executive summary • Begin with the purpose. • Follow the report sequence. • Eliminate nonessential details. • Restrict the length to no more than 10 percent of the original document.

  20. Report Components: Front Matter • Table of contents • Show the beginning page number where each report heading appears in the report. • List of figures • Include a list of tables, illustrations, or figures showing the title of each and its page number. • Place the list of figures on the same page with the table of contents if possible.

  21. Report Components: Front Matter • Introduction • Discuss purpose and significance of report. • Preview main points and order of development.

  22. Report Components: Body • Body • Discuss, analyze, and interpret the research findings or proposed solution to the problem. • Arrange the findings in logical segments that follow your outline. • Use clear, descriptive headings.

  23. Structural Cues for Reports • Headings • Write short but clear headings. • Experiment with wording that tells who, what, when, where, and why. • Include at least one heading per report page. • Try to create headings that are grammatically balanced at a given level. For example: Creating Team Motivation Treating Employees Like Customers (not Employees Should Be Treated Like Customers)

  24. Structural Cues for Reports • Headings • Integrate headings gracefully. Try not to repeat the exact wording from the heading in the following sentence. • Avoid using the heading as an antecedent to a pronoun. For example, avoid: CUSTOMER SURVEYS These are . . .

  25. Levels of Report Headings REPORT, CHAPTER, AND PART TITLES The title of a report, chapter heading, or major part should be centered in all caps. First-Level Subheading Headings indicating the first level of division are centered and bolded. Whether a report is single-spaced or double-spaced, most writers triple-space (leaving two blank lines) before and double-space (leaving one blank line) after a first-level heading. Second-Level Subheading Headings that divide topics introduced by first-level subheadings are bolded and begin at the left margin. For that reason, a second-level subheading is also called a side heading. Third-level subheading. Because it is part of the paragraph that follows, a third-level subheading is also called a paragraph subheading. It should appear in boldface print.

  26. Report Components: Back Matter • Conclusion • Recap the purpose and review the main points. • Tie the main topics together, and, when appropriate, ask for action and/or goodwill.

  27. Report Components: Back Matter • Appendix(es) • Include items of interest to readers, such as data-gathering tools like questionnaires (these are originally created items). • Each appendix item should be in its own appendix

  28. Report Components: Back Matter • References • List all references cited in the paper. • References should be arranged alphabetically.

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